Angeles National Forest

A Southern California Edison subcontractor and noted ornithologist died Wednesday after falling 200 feet while conducting surveying work in rugged terrain north of Mt. Wilson. Michael San Miguel, 70, of Arcadia, was working on an environmental survey in Angeles National Forest for a new transmission project, Southern California Edison spokesperson Vanessa McGrady said. The biologist and his colleague Jon Feenstra were standing on an embankment shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday when San Miguel fell about 200 feet into a steep gully, sustaining massive injuries.

A 76-year-old hiker who was reported missing Monday morning was found dead Monday afternoon in the Switzer Falls campground area of the Angeles National Forest. The body of Richard Derusha, of Bellflower, was located by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies around 4:25 p.m., L.A. County coroner's officials confirmed. His body was recovered on Tuesday, as darkness prevented a helicopter from being used on Monday night, and the body's location was too remote for it to be carried out by rescue personnel.

On Wednesday the fire danger level on the Angeles National Forest in La Cañada's backyard was raised from "very high" to "extreme." This is the highest national level, but the fifth in a six-level program for Angeles National Forest, with the highest being "critical." The decision to move to the extreme level is based upon several variables including the amount of vegetation, fire resources and moisture. "It is not just determined by moisture," said Sherry Rollman, spokeswoman for USDA Forest Service.

The U.S. Forest Service has selected Thomas Contreras to be supervisor for the Angeles National Forest. He has been serving in that position on an interim basis for several months. Contreras has worked for the Forest Service since 1976, and previously served as supervisor of the Mendocino National Forest in Northern California. “I welcome the opportunity to manage one of the most heavily used urban forests within the nation,” Contreras said in a statement. Angeles National Forest recently reopened campgrounds and more than 100 miles of hiking trails after months of rehabilitation following the massive Station fire, which scorched wide swaths of landscape.

Some of the beauty to be found in the Angeles National Forest this spring can exact a heavy price. Areas burned by the Station fire are sprouting a bush with a lovely purple flower known as the poodle-dog bush. But when it comes to this plant, hikers would do well to head warnings from officials: look, but don't touch. That's because the flowering plant,  Turricula parryi, can cause poison oak-like skin rashes and blisters. The plant thrives in areas where the soil has been ravaged by flash floods or, as in this case, fire.

Regardless of lower temperatures the area is experiencing this week, fire danger in the Angeles National Forest remains high. "The fire danger really has not subsided at all. Vegetation is every bit as dry now as it was earlier in the season," said Stanton Florea, spokesperson for the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. "Looking at the big picture, we're still at the Extreme Fire Danger [level]. The general conditions are still extreme." Multiple signs warned motorists Wednesday morning not to stop while driving on Angeles Crest Highway just north of La Cañada.

Angeles National Forest is a beautiful area where families and outdoor enthusiasts hike, picnic and camp. One thousand miles of twisting roads, paved and unpaved, wind through the forest. Those roads not only entice nature lovers, but those who love to speed. On a Saturday ride-along with California Highway Patrol Officer Michael Morrin, the reality of this urban forest became apparent to a reporter the minute the early morning shift began. “We already have a report of an accident,” Morrin said as he began working at 7 a.m. The accident was a single vehicle that had overturned on Angeles Crest Highway.

December showers that prompted fears of debris flow damage in hillside neighborhoods below Station fire burn areas have also significantly lowered the risk of wildfire for the Angeles National Forest. For the first time since last January, U.S. Forest Service officials on Friday downgraded the Angeles National Forest's fire danger level from "high" to the lowest level possible. While staffing and the availability of firefighting resources tend to be factors in setting fire danger levels, the primary reason for the reduced risk level is that forest lands are simply soaked, said Sherry Rollman, the Forest Service's spokesperson on Angeles National Forest matters.

Some of the beauty to be found in the Angeles National Forest this spring can exact a heavy price. Areas burned by the Station fire are sprouting a bush with a lovely purple flower known as the poodle-dog bush. But when it comes to this plant, hikers would do well to head warnings from officials: look, but don't touch. That's because the flowering plant,  Turricula parryi, can cause poison oak-like skin rashes and blisters. The plant thrives in areas where the soil has been ravaged by flash floods or, as in this case, fire.

Reserve Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies with the Montrose Search and Rescue Team deployed Sunday to come to the aid of a dog injured while hiking with his owner in the Switzer Falls area of the Angeles National Forest, above La Cañada Flintridge. Truman, a 4-year-old golden retriever, had cut his paws and became dehydrated during an afternoon hike, according a statement from the sheriff's department. Rescue workers responding to the owner's 6:30 p.m. call to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station placed Truman on a gurney and wheeled him out of the forest.

Last spring, Corina Roberts found herself with 2,500 pinyon pine tree seedlings and nowhere to plant them. Now she has the baby trees in the ground near a former La Cañada Unified School District campus high in the Angeles National Forest. Later this year, she hopes to turn the former Chilao School into an ecological center run by her nonprofit group, Redbirds Vision. “It's hard to find something like this,” she said. “But when I found it I just fell in love.” Chilao School was originally built so the La Cañada school district could educate the children of U.S. Forest Service and Caltrans workers who lived in the Angeles National Forest, according to Mike Leininger, the district's director of facilities and operations.

Spring is here, and that means hikers and recreation enthusiasts are about to hit the trails in and around the Angeles National Forest. Some will not make it out under their own power. On Tuesday, leaders of the agencies that rescue hikers hosted a safety meeting at Eaton Canyon Natural Area in Pasadena to warn about risks on the trails and the dangers of going off the trails. Eaton Canyon is a focus for first responders because 2011 saw a high number of injuries and incidents requiring crews to use helicopters to bring hikers to safety.

Spring is here, and that means hikers and recreational enthusiasts are about to hit the trails in and around the Angeles National Forest. Some will not make it out under their own power. On Tuesday leaders of the agencies that rescue hikers hosted a safety meeting at Eaton Canyon Natural Area in Pasadena, warning about risks on the trails and the dangers of web sites and videos that encourage people to go off trails. Eaton Canyon is a focus for first responders because 2011 saw a high number of injuries and incidents requiring crews to use choppers to bring hikers to safety.

An ursine troublemaker was tranquilized and taken deep into the Angeles National Forest on Tuesday morning after repeat visits to area homes, but foothills residents shouldn't hold their breath waiting for their next “Yogi Bear” moment. California Fish and Game officials say bear visits are not on the rise in and around La Cañada Flintridge, despite the fact that bears are waking up earlier than usual this year because of the warm winter. “Normally they hibernate and they go down and they lie around all winter,” Fish and Game spokesman Andrew Hughan said.

A 76-year-old hiker who was reported missing Monday morning was found dead Monday afternoon in the Switzer Falls campground area of the Angeles National Forest. The body of Richard Derusha, of Bellflower, was located by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies around 4:25 p.m., L.A. County coroner's officials confirmed. His body was recovered on Tuesday, as darkness prevented a helicopter from being used on Monday night, and the body's location was too remote for it to be carried out by rescue personnel.

In regard to Megan O'Neil's article, “Trust eyes foothill parcel” (Jan. 19), thank you, thank you to the Whalin family and the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy for working together to help preserve a small piece of the beautiful and wild hillsides that so define La Crescenta. It fills my heart to know that the cry of the red-tail hawks, the perfume of the sage bushes, the cool shade of the oaks, and the deer and coyote habitat will be around for my children and grandchildren to enjoy as much as I do. I have known the Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy for many years, and have seen the work it has done in stewarding similar property in the foothills above Altadena.

The Angeles National Forest announced today that in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Adventure Pass fees will be waived at trailheads and Forest Service-managed day use sites during the weekend of Jan. 14-16.  “To honor a great champion of civil rights, the normally required National Forest Adventure Pass will be waived this weekend, we are working to ensure as many visitors as possible can experience the numerous recreational opportunities the...

Since it is the time of year for making resolutions to become a better person, I have decided to make a public confession. At the beginning of last summer I became an addict. It began as an exploration for a new sensation, as so many wrecked lives do, and I thought I would have kicked the habit at least by the fall. But it is winter already and I am caught in the toils of something much bigger than I am. That something is the Angeles National Forest. Going there every day has become as much of a compulsion as any fix. One day, when the warm weather started, I decided to get up while it was still dark, take a hike and watch the sun come up. It was wonderful and I did it again the next day. Six months later, it still is. A lot has changed, of course, but all the essentials are still there: the perfect quiet and the sense of having that entire ring of mountains to yourself, the long, long views and the glorious moment when the sun peeps over the horizon and floods the mountain tops in an orange glow.